Istanbul, Topkapi Palace.

In an exquisitely decorated Islamic-style conference room, Enverpasha, a young and heroic revolutionary hero who was now in charge of the Ottoman army, sat gloomily in a chair, his lips fluttering with his teeth twitching with his clenched teeth. In front of him, Taratbey, the sturdy head of the imperial political circles, and Zemar, the Ottoman naval minister who had a relationship with Qingying, were also full of anger at the moment; The coffee on the table has been sitting for a long time, but no one has been in a leisurely mood to drink it.

"According to the information sent back by Rustu from the scene, last night, the Imperial sailors who could not bear the requisition of the battleship by the British broke through the temporary positions set up by the British on the dock and boarded the battleship, only to be brutally suppressed by a large number of British troops who arrived afterwards. More than 100 Imperial officers and soldiers were severely wounded by the British's sticks and guns, more than half were arrested, and even Rustu himself was confined to his personal freedom, and only the right to communicate with the country was preserved. ”

Zemar clenched his fists, and anyone could hear the extreme anger in his words: "A week ago, the British refused to accept the ships of our men under the pretext that the Greeks were going to attack the Sultan Suleiman with submarines; And this time, they completely exposed their shameless ambitions in front of us, and directly announced that they had carried out a bandit-like shameless expropriation of the warships belonging to our Ottoman Navy! In addition to this, they dare to use force against our sailors, and their arrogance has reached an intolerable level. Whatever the reasons for the British, what right do they have to requisition our warship, which has already been paid for, given that Britain has not yet been drawn into the war. Even the use of force to suppress the legal boarding and reception of officers and sailors of the Imperial Navy? These bunch of British robbers who are more vile and filthy than maggots in their poop. One day it will be judged by Allah the Great. Kick their disgustingly arrogant heads into the mud! ”

"What is the British position on the Sultan Suleiman, and has it proposed a reasonable compensation plan to us?" Enver, who was in charge of the army, turned his gaze to Talatbeyi and said in a deep voice, "The purchase of this warship was painstakingly financed through donations from all over the country, and even the poor farmers of Anatolia donated their blood and sweat!" This time the British announced the expropriation directly, and I needed them to give me a reasonable explanation for the Ottomans. ”

Talat Bey shook his head slightly: "Actually, the British have not proposed any substantial compensation to us on this issue. British Foreign Secretary Gray declared in a statement to us. At a time of great tension in Europe, they want us to 'understand the needs of His Majesty's Government in this crisis', and Gray only says 'sincerely regretful' the loss of the Empire in the economic and other spheres, and even the word reparations does not appear in the whole statement. In my estimation, as long as the sharp confrontation between France and Germany does not subside, we will not be able to get this super-dreadnought, which cost a huge £2.5 million. ”

"Bang!" Hearing Talat Bey's words, Enver, who was not much older than Qingying, could no longer suppress the anger in his heart, and slammed his fist on the conference table, causing the coffee juice on the table to splash everywhere. His eyes were sharp, and he said hatefully in words that popped out of his teeth: "The British have seized the battleship for which we paid in full. The sailors who beat us up and refused to give any compensation. Just one sentence of XX's 'sincere regret' sent us away! What is the difference between such shameless criminal acts and robbery in its purest form? ”

"Enver, what should we do now, shall we withdraw the sailors who received the battleship at the mouth of the Thames, or let Rustu them stay there?" Admiral Zemar calmed the anger in his heart for a moment, and then asked, "In the current situation, it will be difficult for us to take back the warship from the British. ”

As soon as Zemar finished speaking, Talatbeyi suddenly spoke: "Well, please allow me to interject, in fact, our naval officers and sailors have no choice. In a statement I received just before I came here, the British had made it clear that the British had prepared a transport ship to repatriate Rustu and his sailors within a few days, as our receivers had seriously disrupted the normal order of production at the Weeks shipyard by not complying with the law. ”

As soon as these words came out, the expressions on the faces of Enver and Zemar stiffened; Two pairs of reddened eyes were about to split, and the room fell into an eerie, oppressive silence.

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"Enver, you two must not be emotional!" After a while, seeing that there was no movement between the two, Talatbey couldn't help but break the unsettling gloom in the room and said loudly, "The current situation in Europe is still uncertain, and acting rashly will only push the empire into a big gamble that will determine life and death, and once the empire chooses the wrong camp, we will only be greeted by destruction!" Therefore, even if the British swallow our ships, we have no choice but to endure them at the moment. ”

"I understand. Everything is for the sake of our Motherland. Enver's voice was low and hoarse, and there was a thick exhaustion and bitterness in his words. After a moment, he seemed to think of something, and suddenly said: "What about the sister ship we ordered in Germany, how is the construction of the Sultan Selim progressing?" The Germans would not have done the same crazy thing as the despicable and shameless British, would they? ”

Hearing Enville's inquiry, Admiral Zemar's face melted slightly, but his eyes still contained a sense of worry that could not be concealed, and said: "Actually, the situation of the Sultan Selim that we built at the Volkeng shipyard in Germany is not optimistic. As a result of the Agadir crisis, Britain stopped supplying the 356 mm twin turret to Germany during the ship's final outfitting phase, bringing its outfitting work to a standstill. Although the Germans, at our urging, began to equip it with Krupp 350mm guns, and repeatedly assured that they would deliver on time, it is still unclear whether they will fulfill their promises in the current situation. After all, the number of capital ships of the German High Seas Fleet had been surpassed by the British Grand Fleet, and they were more desperate than the British to search for every battleship to strengthen the combat power of the High Seas Fleet. ”

"In other words, our two super-dreadnoughts, which cost a total of five million pounds, will not be able to return home in the end?" Enver's expression of anticipation, which had just risen, froze on his face, and it took a moment for him to let out a cry of worry and despair. For a Turkish government that is heavily in bad debts and has the vast majority of its revenues controlled by the French-led National Debt Management Commission, £5 million is an unimaginable amount of money. In order to raise funds for the two super-dreadnoughts, the al-Shabaab government used every means to award the Medal of Honor for the Reconstruction of the Navy to those who were big donors, in addition to vigorously promoting patriotism. Now that the ship is about to be built, the confident Al-Shabaab government is preparing to take advantage of the absolute superiority of the navy and the shame of its previous defeat in the Balkan war, but who would have expected that the intrusion of Agadir's gunboat would stir up the situation in the whole of Europe, and make the revenge plan of the entire Ottoman high-level and the dream of strengthening the army all become flowers in the moon mirror in the water!

Taratbeyi said softly: "From the current situation, there will be more than a 90% chance that this event will happen. The only good news, however, is that our diplomats in Berlin have been in detailed talks with the German government. The German government has promised that if the Sultan Selim cannot be delivered for objective reasons, they will compensate us in the form of a full refund of the shipbuilding budget we have already paid. So no matter how bad the situation is, we can guarantee that we will get back half of the money. ”

"Nver, we don't have to be too frustrated. The Greek Salamis and the Russian Empress Maria are still more than a year away from completion and commissioning, and in the meantime we can all rely on Barbarossa? The Hayredding took it in stride. Even if Germany and France go to war over Morocco, it will be enough to decide the victory in half a year, and by then our warships will also be able to arrive. Seeing that Enver was still bitter and disappointed, Talatbey couldn't help but say something comforting. At present, the idea of a short-term war is still prevalent in Europe, and with the exception of a few Moltke Jr., Foch, Kitchener, and a few others, almost everyone believes that the next war will continue for months in a desperate offensive by both warring sides and then declare an end.

Enver nodded reluctantly, and was about to say something when there was a clear knock at the door of the room. A moment later, a young naval officer pushed the door open and walked in, and he saluted the three bigwigs present, his brown face full of excitement.

"Why are you breaking in at this time?" Talat Bey's thick eyebrows suddenly rose and he said in a deep voice.

"Ladies Pasha, I beg your pardon for my mistake, but the Foreign Office has just received a message from Berlin. Our Sultan Selim has been completed and is heading towards Istanbul! The young officer's face was full of excitement, and he said loudly in a voice that was a little strange because of the extreme excitement in his heart.

Zemar was stunned for a moment, and suddenly blurted out, "How is this possible?" Not to mention that the Selim will not be built in half a month, but I have not yet sent the sailors to Germany! Does it have its own mental model and be able to drive back to China on its own? ”

"Dear Pasha, at our request, the Frank shipyard hastened the pace of construction, allowing the Sultan Selim to be completed ahead of schedule. And this time, it was also the Germans who took the initiative to maneuver the battleship with their own sailors; It is now heading towards the English Channel and is expected to be in Istanbul in ten days! The young officer explained with a smile.

Enver sat stunned, and suddenly a warm current flowed through his heart. (To be continued......)

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